cckcsharp

"Step on that scale now...early on the scale is our enemy, later on it is our best friend and motivator!" Hey Michele, what did you mean by this. I don't get it and I read it over like 10 times. It's just going right over my head. Jessica

Awesome Phoenix. How do you feel now? Did you go back to tijuana? I am just not sure who Alaina D is? Never heard the name.

Cathy, I am glad things went well for you. And I hope the coming days go well too. How much do you have to pay for fills there in canada? Or is your fills included with the cost of the surgery? Jessica

thanks michele, I will check it out.

I was just wondering what the difference is between eating a protein bar and drinking protein shake. I read the labels on the bars and noticed that some are very high in sugar or fat. But if you find one thats comparable to your shake such as same cals, fat, sugar, prot, and such, isn't this pretty much the same? I am just wondering before eating a protein bar, what you guys think or know about them. Is the liquid protein shake better or different somehow? I know that we are not suppose to rely on these after the surgery, but I am mostly referring to pre-op diet, although I am sure that I will use these after the surgery when needed. Thanks Jessica

Good job, Elaine. Great tips for us future bandsters.

Sweety, if you do go alone, it will be okay. I had to travel all the way to Africa by myself and I had never left the country before. I cried like a baby the night before my flight scared out of my mind. I told my husband that if the plane crashed in the ocean I would be the first one eaten by sharks because I was the fat juicy one. But, everything went well. And I actually regretted that I was so scared because I think I would have had more fun on my trip if I had just relaxed. And now looking back I think, "I was in Africa and should have had a blast." But I spent much of the time with a board up my rear end worried about this and worried about that. If you go alone, you can keep in touch with us while there for support and I suggest taking a deep breath and enjoy the ride. I also hope for you, that your husband will soften to this and come with you. I will keep you in my prayers. Jessica

I definetly think you have the right to be private about it. I am very open so I suspect that while I don't tell people how much I weigh right now, once that weight is gone I won't care if they know. But it's all personal preference. And I liked the response of "enough to add 10 years to my life." I agree that this sounds more positive and not like your trying to be rude when they ask. But there will always be those people who don't get it. You will give them one of your rockin responses and they will laugh and then say to you," no seriously, how much have you lost." The trick will be what to say then. I know I have had things I didn't want to share and it sucks when the person just keeps on asking because they are not taking the hint that you don't want to talk about it. Let us know how those responses work. I am anxious to see how people respond to them. Jessica

I think I might give the optifast a try and I was thinking the same thing that you suggested. I am going to do mostly liquid diet for the next four weeks. See if this helps along with the water water water water. Thanks michele, you are truly awesome. Jessica

Can you buy optifast somewhere locally. After hearing you guys mention this, I thought I might consider the optifast over the herbalife. I found places online to get it, but then I obviously have to wait for it to be shipped. So I was just wondering how else I might get it. Where did you guys get it from? Thanks bunches. I just love you guys and all your support. Jessica

I told her today and she didn't say any response to it. But I am going to tell her again, and probably directly ask her to count those 8 pounds as well. Well see how it goes. Thanks Jessica

Thanks for all the great advice and moral support. The part that discouraged me the most is that Dr. Miranda did tell me today that I need to be down 14 pounds by surgery date. Thats 4 1/2 weeks. I am not discouraged at the slow weight loss, I am discouraged at being told that I may need to re-schedule my surgery. I asked Dr. Miranda about upping my calories due to the exercise and she said no. So I am just drinking lots of water and I decided to completely take out the diet soda to see if this helps. I would love to up my protein except Dr. Miranda said I didn't need more calories. So two shakes and one lean cuisine doesn't leave a lot of opportunity to up my protein. I am using herbalife powders for my shakes. I also have this supplemental protein powder from herbalife to add to the shakes. I am doing that to up my protein because it only adds like another 40 calories per shake. Hopefully this will help with the protein. So we will just see how this next week goes. Thanks again for all your support.

Thanks Kim. It helps to hear that everybody else's struggles are just as hard. Then I at least know that I am normal!! Thanks for the support. I am going to keep plugging away at this and hope things get better. Jessica

Thanks. I am going to try it out. So I will be right there with ya, when it comes to staying close to the bathroom. Hope it all comes out well for you! Jessica

Thanks so much for the encouragement. I am grateful for the forum because I cannot talk to friends and family about this. They just don't understand it. I will add more protein and see what happens. Thanks so much. Jessica

Stormy, it depends on how much you weigh and your BMI what they have you do pre op. My starting BMI is 53, so thats pretty high. Dr. Miranda said that I would only go to liquid protein shakes the 3 days before the surgery. Before that, it's the two shakes and one lean cuisine. But, I am starting to wonder if I should just do the liquid diet for the next 4 weeks just to lose the weight. I am worried the other way won't work. As for your husband, well guys suck!!! They lose weight much faster and easier than us gals do, so I don't think he will have to much of a problem. There's another guy on the board who has lost 28 pounds in the last 4 weeks. I am not sure about the surgery being cancelled. They can ask you to post pone it. Which means that you pay a hefty fee with the airlines to change your ticket to new dates. I too will lose money if they make me re-schedule. And I wonder if post poning the surgery would even make a difference. If I can't lose the amount they want in 7 weeks then I don't think that delaying the surgery will help. I am going to keep trying to lose the weight though. So don't worry because of my failure. Most people do lose the pre op weight. And if your starting weight is low enough, then they don't even require you to lose that much or nothing at all. What is your starting weight? Jessica

Hey, where do you get Magnesium Citrate? Your symptoms sound like the same as mine. Diverticulitis runs in my family and we have either the rhea's or the consto's just like you were saying. Since I started the pre op diet, I am definetly not moving very much. And I take the fiber pills that Dr. Miranda said to take. So this stuff your talking about sounds awesome. But I wasn't sure if it's by prescription only or over the counter. Jessica

Okay thanks. I started this morning with lots of water since that seems to be what everyone says will help. And I did tell Dr. Miranda on the phone this morning that I had lost the 8 pounds prior to calling the OCC. She didn't say anything, but at least I told her.

Okay, I don't mean to sound defeated, but that is how I am feeling today. If I can't lose the weight pre op, then what can the band do for me. The band works by restricting calories. Well, I have been on calorie restriction for 2 1/2 weeks and yes, I lost 4 pounds, but this morning due to all this frustration, I weighed myself 4 days early. And surprise. I have gained back the 4 pounds I lost. Starting from 0 again. I talked to Dr. Miranda on the phone this morning and told her about my frustration. She said to increase the chromium picolinate to 2x daily. She said that 800 calories per day was fine even with my 25 minutes a day on the treadmill. But Somehow, I did not feel comforted. She said to eat some spinach each day because the vitamin c would help me burn fat. All in all, I have to say that I am starting to wonder if some peoples bodies just won't give up the weight. I am scared that I am condemned to a life of fat. I am not giving up yet. I took some laxatives because I haven't been moving in that department very well (sorry if TMI.) I am hoping that may be some of the reason for gaining the 4 pounds back. Also, I am taking all of your advices to drink lots of water. I have had to pee alot today because I am drinking only water. No more diet soda. Maybe that will help too. So I will wait another 5 or 6 days to weigh myself again and see if these steps will help. I am so sorry to sound so pessimistic and frustrated. Thanks for listening. Jessica

I am using the herbalife protein drinks, .5 grams fat and 9 grams sugar. I think that pretty low isn't it?

Hi, I started my pre-op diet two weeks ago. I lost 3 pounds the first week and only 1 the second week. Dr. Miranda asked that I email once a week to check in. When I checked in with her this past weekend with my 1 pound weight loss, she responded saying that I may need to post pone my surgery. I am frustrated because they have my starting weight as 296. But 2 weeks before calling the OCC, I weighed 304. I lost 8 pounds just prior to calling them. So I am technically down 12 pounds in 4 weeks, but they are recognizing 4 of those pounds. Now, my weight loss has slowed since when I first started, and I am frustrated because, I know that initially when people go on these pre-op radical diets they drop weight fast. Well, my fast pounds came off right before I called them. Because my BMI is 53, I have to lose weight before surgery. They didn't give me a number, but the paperwork they send out says 5%, for me that would be 14 pounds. I have 4 1/2 weeks until surgery. I am doing the 2 protein shakes and 1 lean cuisine diet. I eat about 800 calories per day and I am walking on my treadmill 5 days per week. The weight is just coming off slow. I don't want to post pone my surgery and I don't know what more I can do to make the weight come off faster. I thought 7 weeks of pre-op diet was plenty of time. I am frustrated because I am not even sure what weight they are looking for prior to surgery. I did respond to Dr. Miranda and ask this question, so hopefully she will clarify so I know what weight they want me at. But I guess I am just ultimately frustrated because I feel like this is why I am over weight. It seems like no matter what I do, nothing works. I am wondering if I should be doing some liquid diet for the next 4 weeks to see if this will help. Although I know that would be awful to follow that up with another 3-4 weeks of post op liquid diet. Help, what can I do different to help keep my surgery on track for Aug. 29th. Jessica

My starting weight, my BMI and my goal weight are all about the same as you. And I see that you were banded in June. I am scheduled for surgery on Aug. 29th. So I am anxious to follow your progress, as I will be right behind you. How much weight did you lose during pre-op. I am down 4 pounds in two weeks, with 4 1/2 weeks to go. I wanted to lose 20 before surgery, but I am not sure I am going to make that. Maybe only 12-15 pounds. I sure am tryin though. I am even walking on the darn treadmill everday. Jessica

Why is this more common for gastric patients? Is it because of the rapid weight loss, or that they aren't getting proper nutrition due to the actual bypass of the intestine that limits absorbtion of of nutrients? Or both? Jessica

just testing as well